Updates from Val di Fiemme

May 27, 2025
, 9:34 am
, Blog for people, Blog for business, Sounds of our forests, Sounds of our forests

May 2025 – Updates from the forests of Val di Fiemme

Our commitment to reforesting the woods affected by Storm Vaia and now damaged by bark beetles continues. On Saturday 24 May 2025, we returned to the Castello della Molina area (TN), where more than 100 people planted over 200 new trees.

During the day, we also checked on the trees planted last year and were happy to see that they are doing well and growing steadily. Thanks to constant monitoring, carried out together with local forest managers, we can follow them step by step and intervene if necessary.

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September 2024 – Updates from the forests of Val di Fiemme

‘We returned to Val di Fiemme to check on the condition of the seedlings planted in 2023,’ says Lucio Brotto, founder of WOWnature. ‘Thanks to favourable water conditions and a summer characterised by regular rainfall, the young plants have survived well, despite the high temperatures during July and August.’ Reforestation is not only a work of landscape regeneration, but an investment in the future of biodiversity. Every plant planted is, in fact, a hope for a healthier and more resilient ecosystem.

Despite the encouraging results, Val di Fiemme continues to fight a complex battle. The European spruce bark beetle, a small beetle that feeds on the bark of fir trees, has become a devastating threat after Storm Vaia. The large amount of felled timber has created the ideal environment for the proliferation of this insect, turning a local problem into a full-blown epidemic that threatens the stability of the remaining forests. ‘To control the spread of the bark beetle, we have installed traps to monitor the population of these insects,’ explains Lucio Brotto. ‘The aim is to prevent further damage and ensure that new seedlings can grow in a safer and more protected environment.’

One of the most important lessons we learned from Storm Vaia is that diversity is key to resilience. In the past, the forests of Val di Fiemme were dominated by spruce, a species vulnerable to climate change and pest attacks. Now, thanks to the support of the Magnifica Comunità di Fiemme and our nursery activities, we are creating a more varied and resilient forest mosaic. ‘We are planting not only spruce, but also larch, Swiss pine and deciduous species such as birch, mountain maple and rowan,’ says Lucio Brotto. ‘The aim is to create a mixed forest that is better able to adapt to climate change and provide shelter for a wider variety of animal and plant species.’

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March 2022 – Updates from the forests of Val di Fiemme

Many of you have asked us, ‘How are the seedlings we planted in Val di Fiemme doing? Can you give us an update?’ No sooner said than done. We sent our Jacopo on a mission where, together with the Magnifica Comunità della Val di Fiemme, he checked and verified the health of your seedlings.

Your seedlings are not just fine: they are doing very well.
Two years after planting, we can see that the winter has not caused any problems for the seedlings, which have resisted very well, partly due to the snow this winter, even though there was very little, much less than last year.

But why is snow good for seedlings? Snow is essential for the hydration and fertility of the soil itself. If there is a cold, dry winter with almost no rain or snowfall, the surface of the soil often freezes and hardens considerably; in north-facing areas, the soil can remain frozen for a long time, even during the middle of the day.

The presence of snow acts like a blanket and prevents the temperature of the ground from falling below zero: in fact, the temperature under the snow is much milder than above it, allowing it to remain constant throughout the period in which the ground is covered. Subsequently, as temperatures rise, the melting snow causes water to penetrate deep into the ground, hydrating the soil and allowing our plants to develop well.

We will continue to monitor this over the years and keep you updated on the growth of your seedlings.

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August 2019 – Updates from the forests of Val di Fiemme

Planting will begin between autumn this year and spring next year.
In Val di Fiemme, intensive work is underway to clear the wood that fell to the ground due to bad weather and to clean up the areas, although there is still a lot of work to be done. Suffice it to say that approximately 100,000 cubic metres of wood have been recovered out of over 300,000 cubic metres on the ground.

A major difference compared to other areas affected by Storm Vaia is the presence of the Magnifica Comunità di Fiemme, which manages many of the valley’s forests: having a homogeneous, coordinated organisation with great operational capacity has made it possible to speed up restoration activities as much as possible, which are therefore proceeding at a rapid pace. The Magnifica also has two nurseries that are producing the seedlings that will be used for planting between autumn this year and spring next year.

The support of WOWnature and all the people who have decided to grow a tree in Val di Fiemme will make the structure of the valley’s famous forests more resilient, thanks in part to the planting of different species.

In addition, rockfall barriers, avalanche barriers and other safety measures are being installed in many areas; previously, this work was done by the forest thanks to its trees and their roots!

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